Ad Market Prediction of the Day: Recovery Is Here, Says Ad Giant Publicis
by Peter Kafka
Posted on October 27, 2009 at 1:15 PM PT
It’s all well and good for Google (GOOG) to say the worst is over. But what about media companies that survive on revenue streams other than search ads?
Things should be better for them, too, says Publicis, one of the biggest advertising companies in the world. The French holding company, which announced its results today, says things bottomed out this summer, and that “the advertising market is starting its recovery which will be slow and progressive.”
For a slightly less stilted version of that statement, see Publicis boss Maurice Levy: “The recovery will be slow, but all the signs we have are going in the right direction.”
As always with these stories, context is key: For now, “recovery” generally means “less bad.” As in this case: Publicis says organic growth–the company’s performance after you strip out acquisitions and currency effects–declined 7.4 percent in the last quarter, which isn’t exactly sizzling. But it’s better than the 8.4 percent decline it notched in the previous quarter.
